Video - Erasing the Graduated Filter
Here's another video straight from the request lines. Recently I've heard a lot of chatter around erasing areas that the Graduated filter affected, that you may not have wanted it to affect. For example, plenty of my horizons also have a mountain, tree, or some other object that I don't want a graduated filter to interact with. In this video I'll show you how you can bring those areas back and "erase" (well kind of) the effects of the Graduated filter. Have a great weekend folks, and remember to stay away from the malls :)









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November 28th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Why would this post make me go to the mall?
November 28th, 2008 at 6:13 am
What a nice tip.
Hope to see more videos regarding the adjustment brush tool.
November 28th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Great timing. Just yesterday I tried to edit a picture that had an overexposed gray sky, but in the center of it was a cathedral dome. I tried a light blue grad which did wonders for the sky but gave the dome a blue cast. The result was really ugly. I went to grayscale to get something usable, and while that worked, I was thinking “If only I could erase…”
In a few minutes, I’ll go back to that photo and try again, but this time adjust out the filter on top of the dome. I have no doubt that this will result in a photo I really like.
Thanks!
Steve
November 28th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I hope the adobe guys will make this less difficult in a next version of lightroom.
November 28th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
hey Matt
lightroon with an “n” ? what wereyou drinking!
November 28th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Hi Matt,
Does this technique really work? If you have a graduated filter then by definition the adjustment you are making is varying across the image, from top to bottom say, so for example at the top of the filter the adjustment is -1 Exposure but at the bottom it is 0. So dialing in a single number into an adjustment brush would actually overexpose areas around the middle of the region where you applied the graduated filter (to +0.5 say). I know you demonstrated the technique on the image of the bike, so what am I missing here?
Cheers
Antonio
November 29th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Antonio,
It does work because the graduation only takes place between the top and bottom line on the grad filter. Everything above the top line gets the maximum treatment. Everything below the bottom line gets no treatment.
Most of the adjustment brush treatment in the video was taking place in the non-graduation zone (above the top line).
As Matt says in the video, you just need to be careful when you are applying the compensating adjustment brush between the lines (i.e in the graduation zone).
This is a great tip from Matt - there is almost always something that needs bringing back from the grad treatment.
November 29th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Greate video, Mat! Go ahead on this way….I like this site very very much!
Alberto - Italy
November 30th, 2008 at 1:52 am
Hi Matt,
Great site ! Loved it from the beginnig. Are you still on iTunes ? I did not get anything since 19/11/2008.
Micheline
November 30th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
What is an .M4V file? My laptop does not recognize that, but Windows Live Search seems to indicate I need Quicktime? (That’s the one that always asks me to buy something everything it fires up, right?) What am I missing here?
December 1st, 2008 at 6:45 am
@Klementz
Try VLC Media Player it’s a nice piece of freeware that plays nearly everything.
Eric
December 1st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
So what do you do if you add a color to the graduated filter and want to remove it from objects in the forground?
December 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 am
hey matt - thanks for the tip! very useful..
just one question, the video doesnt seem to appear in itunes?
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Yep, waiting for the synch to iTunes….
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 am
Matt, Have you noticed any banding with use of the adjustment brush. A photo I’m working on a photo which exhibits banding on screen as well as in print.
Thanks Dennis